Pinion
/ˈpɪn.jən/noun
A bird's wing, especially one used in flight; also a toothed wheel or gear.
Did you know?The bird-and-gear senses of pinion come from different historical paths: the wing sense is older in English, while the gear sense was borrowed later from French, ultimately from Latin pinna, meaning a feather or wing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pet-
“to fly or to spread out”
Latin
Latin
pinna
“a feather, wing, or pointed projection”
Old French
Old French
pignon
“a small wing; later also a cogwheel”
Middle English
English
pinyon / pinion
“a wing, especially a bird's wing; later also the act of binding the arms or wings”
Modern English
English
pinion
“a wing or a toothed gear wheel”